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Blogs by Vena McGrath
Saturday 31 January 2009 - 4.20PM 1/30/2009 9:11:58 PM
Heat wave dramas We are in the midst of a heatwave not experienced for up to 100 years in our Southern States of Victoria and South Australia. Bushfires in Victoria are raging and joining together to cause a huge loss of property/homes. This must be devastating for those caught up in the disaster. The heat has been around 43c day after day in Victoria and the Australian Open Tennis was mostly held with the roof closed and the airconditioning on. The players were still awash with perspiration and I wonder if the money they earn is worth the stress they place themselves under to play a game of tennis. Even the spectators place themselves at risk getting to and from the venue in such torrid heat.
Australian newspapers report today that up to 22 people may have died in the heatwave in South Australia so far. The heat is never-ending with just some respite at night. Here in Sydney it's been in the mid to high 30s for days now with some days out here near Penrith registering over 40. I can't imagine not having air conditioning and yet so many people don't have it. About the only place to be would be in a bath but again, many homes don't have baths, just showers.
I can go and fall in the pool when it becomes too much to cope with, but then that's out in full sun and the concrete is so hot you can't walk to the pool without shoes on. The water in the pool has been continuously over 30 degrees and that's not usual for this time of year even though it's summer. The pool will heat up markedly over a few days of consistent heat, but then the temperature of the water drops as the temperatures lower. This January there hasn't been a drop in the temperature and the water is really a bit warm to even both having a dip in, unless you took a cake of soap and had a bath at the same time.
My son and I went shopping mid morning today and the sun burned through our clothes while we packed the shopping in the boot. Then it was into the car with air conditioner blazing away in an effort to cool down. The drain on the motor was noticeable when I was driving back home. It brought back memories of when we didn't have air conditioning in cars and only an open window would help ease the pain of the heat. This time of year though it's not an option to drive with a window down as the air is extreme in its heat. No wonder people are dying, unable to cope. If you had breathing difficulties and no air conditioning then I shudder to think what would happen.
I checked the weather forecast for the next 5 days and there is no respite for Sydney. No rain is forecast and the temperatures are going to remain in the mid 30s or higher. When I say Sydney I mean the Penrith area. Sydney city, against the backdrop of the Harbour and waterways, is usually about 7 degrees cooler than out here.
I vacuumed my car this morning in readiness for the return to work as it was looking a bit tacky with bits of this and that around on the floor. By the time I had finished I was wet through with water dripping off my hair into my eyes - they were of course stinging from the salt coming out of my skin. That's how it is across a lot of Australia at the moment. If you try to do anything at all away from air conditioning you break out in a sweat all over with the head dripping like a tap.
Shaye is happily inside on the tiles as is my son's labrador Lizzie. It is too hot outside for them and they don't even like having to go outside for loo visits, scooting back inside in the shortest possible time they can. I think about the people in Victoria, many of them experiencing blackouts. So, no air conditioning and if the blackouts are lengthy, all the food in the fridges/freezers going off. It doesn't take long in these temperatures for a building that suddenly loses air conditioning to become hot and humid. There's no way anyone could open doors or windows because any wind blowing is extremely hot. In the case of those in fire areas the air would also be full of ash and the smell of fire. All anyone can do is hope that no one loses their life in the fires and that pets are safe and wildlife escapes to safety.
The only good thing about going shopping today was the coolness in the shopping centre, so cool that I would have happily stayed there if I had a nice comfy chair to sit in and plenty to drink.
Shaye had his turbo wash this morning and of course he was happy to be wet. He loves to stand out in the yard under the hose spray and the wetter he gets the better he likes it. When there's no hose spraying on him he goes and stands in his drinking water and unbelievably, he will somehow manage to get his front legs into a bucket of water and just stand there. My son and I have discussed perhaps getting him a bathtub that we could probably set into concrete that he could go and lie in whenever he wanted to. If he gets in the pool he is happy to just lie in the water on the step with his head sticking out of the water. Lizzie, on the other hand, will swim in a river or a lake or at the beach, but she won't willingly go in the pool and she runs when the hose is turned on her. Strange the difference between a golden labrador and a golden retriever.
The day Shaye arrived here at 3kg in weight (7 weeks old) the breeder who brought him down from Tweed Heads told me that once he found water he wouldn't want to be out of it. How true that was and still is. I would let him in the pool frequently but my son doesn't like the hair floating on top even though it's not that difficult to skim off. He also says that dogs make the water smelly. To keep the peace I don't let Shaye in the pool unless my son allows him in. However, as he is off overseas for a month soon I imagine that Mr Shaye will be enjoying quite a few dips in the pool on the proviso of course that he doesn't tell Uncle John what I allowed him to do while he was on holidays:)
As a matter of interest - far north Queensland are experiencing floods while the rest of us are sweltering with no rain and many dams are beginning to dry up as the weeks pass without any of that wet stuff falling out of the sky.
